title: Magnetically generated spin-orbit coupling for ultracold atoms.
abstract: We present a new technique for producing two- and three-dimensional Rashba-type spin-orbit couplings for ultracold atoms without involving light. The method relies on a sequence of pulsed inhomogeneous magnetic fields imprinting suitable phase gradients on the atoms. For sufficiently short pulse durations, the time-averaged Hamiltonian well approximates the Rashba Hamiltonian. Higher order corrections to the energy spectrum are calculated exactly for spin-1/2 and perturbatively for higher spins. The pulse sequence does not modify the form of rotationally symmetric atom-atom interactions. Finally, we present a straightforward implementation of this pulse sequence on an atom chip.
authors.affiliation: Joint Quantum Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-4111, USA and National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA.
authors.forename: Brandon M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: I B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Spielman
authors.forename: Gediminas
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Juzeliūnas